PhD Placements

David Hummel

• Thesis: Dynamic Limit Pricing with Entrant Cost Advantage: A Model with Application to Low Cost Airlines
• Committee: Professor John Kwoka (Chair), Associate Professor Bilge Erten, Associate Professor Imke Reimers
• Position: New York State Insurance Fund

Yanli Liu

• Thesis: The Reputation System of Digital Platforms and their Impact on Consumer Purchase Behavior and Welfare: Evidence from Airbnb
• Committee: Associate Professor Imke Reimers (Chair), Professor James Dana,  Associate Professor Mindy Marks,
• Position: Tenured Track Assistant Professor, Towson University

Yushuo Pan

• Thesis: Estimating the Demand for Differentiated Products and the Efficiency of the Production Line
• Committee: Professor James Dana (Chair), Professor John Kwoka, Associate Professor Imke Reimers (Cornell)
• Position: Economic & Industry Analyst, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Fashion Innovation Center

Tomer Stern

• Thesis: Teacher Testing Standards and the New Teacher Pipeline
• Committee: Associate Professor Mindy Marks (Chair), Associate Professor Alicia Modestino, Associate Professor Bilge Erten
• Position: Economic Consultant at United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Xiaowei An

• Thesis: The Consequences of Trade Policy and the Relaxation on China’s One-Child Policy on Fertility and Labor Market Outcomes
• Committee:  Associate Professor Mindy Marks, Professor Bilge Erten, Associate Professor Silvia Prina
• Position: Economic Analyst, China Economic Information Network

David Casale

• Thesis: An Investigation of Polarization Inevitability in Freely Interacting Societies
• Committee: Professor William Dickens (Chair), Professor Robert Triest, Associate Professor Nicholas Beauchamp
• Position: Data Science Lead, Neology PSquare

Jiacheng Liang

• Thesis: Essays in Empirical Macroeconomics and Finance
• Committee: Professor Jun Ma (Chair), Assistant Professor Ivan Petkov, Assistant Professor Jianfei Cao
• Position: Macroeconomic Research Analyst, Century Securities

Qiaoling Ma

• Thesis: Three Essays in Applied Econometrics: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Financial Crisis 
•  Committee: Professor James Dana (co-Chair), Professor John Friar (co-Chair), and Professor Patrick Legros
• Position: Data and Applied Scientist, Microsoft

• Thesis: Econometric Analysis of Airline Rivalry and Consumer Compliance with Prescription Drugs
• Committee: Professor James Dana, Associate Professor Imke Reimers, Professor John Kwoka
• Initial Position: Meta, Research Scientist-Machine learning role
• Current Position: Senior Data Scientist, Proximic

Arvind Sharma

• Thesis: Determinants of Geographic Labor Mobility, Electric Vehicle Charging Station Deployment, and Mortgage Refinancing
• Committee: Professor James D. Dana (Chair) Associate Professor Imke Reimers, Professor Robert K. Triest
• Position: Assistant Professor of the Practice in Applied Economics, Boston College

Redina Tahaj

• Thesis: Essays in Applied Economics
• Committee: Associate Professor Mindy Marks (chair), Professor Robert Triest, and Margarita Patria, Principal at Charles River Associates
• Position: Associate, Analysis Group

Zhehui Zheng

• Thesis: Three Essays on Applied Microeconomic Analyses of Entry, Deregulation, and Labor Supply
• Committee: Professor James Dana (chair), Associate Professor Imke Reimers, Professor John Kwoka, Associate Professor Mindy Marks
• Position: Post-doc, Tsinghua University

Yanchi Zou

• Thesis: Three Essays on the Effects of Educational and Fiscal Policies in China and a Method to Identify Maverick Firms
• Comittee: Associate Professor Mindy Marks (chair), Associate Professor Bilge Erten, Associate Professor Imke Reimers. Professor John Kwoka
• Position: Tenured Track Assistant Professor, Sichuan University

• Thesis: Essays on Term Structure of Interest Rates and Monetary Policy
• Committee: Jun Ma, Ivan Petkov, Robert Triest
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor, University of International Business and Economics

Andrew Kearns

• Thesis: Public and private investment in renewables and broadband : an industrial organization perspective
• Committee: James Dana, Imke Reimers, John Kwoka
• Initial Position: Economist, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC

Urbashee Paul

• Thesis: Essays on Skilled-Labor Immigration and Economic Mobility
• Committee: Alicia Sasser Modestino, Robest Triest, Andrew Change (FRB Boston)
• Initial Position: Associate at Analysis Group, Boston, MA
• Current Position: Senior Economist, Keystone AI, New York

• Thesis: Microeconomic Analyses of the Effects of Regulation and Elections Across Europe and Turkey
• Committee: James Dana (chair), Bilge Erten, Mindy Marks, Imke Reimers
• Initial Position: Associate at Analysis Group, Boston, MA

• Thesis: Essays in Demand Estimation: Illicit Drugs and Commercial Mushrooms
• Committee: James Dana (chair), Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini
• Initial Position: Head of Bridge Research at State Street, Boston, MA
• Current Position: Senior Data Scientist, Advisor360°

• Thesis: Sex Ratios on College Campuses and Scope-Of-Practice Laws on Access to Medical Care
• Committee: Mindy Marks (chair), Angela Kilby, James Dana
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor at Nanjing Normal University of Special Education, Nanjing, China

• Thesis: Essays in Empirical Macroeconomics and Finance
• Committee: Jun Ma (chair), Ivan Petkov, Robert Triest, Professor Chang-Jin Kim (University of Washington)
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor at Renmin University, Beijing, China

• Thesis: Essays in Marketing and Applied Microeconomics
• Committee: James Dana (chair), Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini
• Initial Position: Risk Management Analyst at Populus Financial Group, Irving, TX
• Current Position: Economist at RSM US, Chicago, IL (Bloomberg Best Rate Forecaster in 2023)

• Thesis: Applications of Structural Demand Estimation to the Smartphone and the Electric Automobile Industries
• Committee: James Dana (chair), Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini
• Current Position: Lecturer, NU Department of Economics

• Thesis: The Effectiveness of Policies to Improve Spatial Variety and Product Quality in the Retail Healthcare Industry: Pharmacies and Dialysis Centers
• Committee: James Dana (chair), Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini
• Initial Position: Visiting Lecturer of Economics at Northeastern University, Boston, MA
• Current Position: Lecturer at Boston University, Boston, MA
• Contact: https://www.bu.edu/questrom/profile/carlos-dominguez/

• Thesis: Three Essays on the Impact of Competition and Certification Programs on Price and Service Quality in Airlines and Online Markets
• Committee: James Dana (chair), John Kwoka, Imke Reimers
• Initial Position: Economist at Amazon, Seattle, WA
• Current Position: Senior Data Scientist. PetCo

• Thesis: The Impact Of Competition And Regulation On Broadband Internet Deployment In The Telecommunications Industry
• Committee: James Dana (co-chair), John Kwoka (co-chair), Imke Reimers
• Initial Position: Economist at Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C.

• Thesis: Three Essays in Productivity and Earnings
• Committee: Mindy Marks (chair), Neil Alper, Alicia Sasser Modestino
• Initial Position: Lecturer of Economics at Department of Economics in University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
• Current Position: Assistant Professor of Sport Management at University of Michigan

• Thesis: Competition, Consumer Welfare And Policy Evaluation In Airline And Health Care Industries
• Committee: James Dana (chair), John Kwoka, Imke Reimers
• Initial Position: Associate at Competition Dynamics, Salem, MA
• Current Position: Economist at Competition Dynamics in Salem, MA

• Thesis: Three Essays in Labor Economics
• Committee: William Dickens (chair), Robert Triest, Alicia Sasser Modestino
• Initial Position: Visiting Assistant Professor at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME.
• Current Position: Director of Research at Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass), Boston, MA

• Thesis: Essays in Applied Economics on Households Demand, Housing Supply and Airline Operational Performance
• Committee: James Dana (chair), John Kwoka, Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini
• Initial Position: Postdoc at Center for Insurance Policy and Research (CIPR) of National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)

• Thesis: The Impact of Economic Incentives on Health Outcomes and the Quality of Health Care
• Committee: James Dana (chair), Kristin Madison, Mindy Marks, Imke Reimers
• Initial Position: Beijing Sport University, Beijing Shi, China

• Thesis: Understanding Mortgage Choice
• Committee: Alicia Sasser Modestino (chair), Maria Luengo Prado, James Dana
• Initial Position: Assistant Teaching Professor of Finance at D’Amore-McKim School of Business in Northeastern University, Boston, MA
• Contact: https://damore-mckim.northeastern.edu/people/mark-gooley/

• Thesis: Essays in Industrial Organization: Of Energy, Environment, and Fish Markets
• Committee: John Kwoka (chair), James Dana, Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini
• Current Position: ESG Strategy Officer – Climate Focus
  Bureau of Asset Management – NYC Office of the Comptroller
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at College of Environmental Science and Forestry in SUNY, Syracuse, NY

• Thesis: Three Essays in Applied Economics: Topics in Transportation, Industrial Organization and Health Economics
• Committee: Steve Morrison, John Kwoka, James Dana, Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini
• Current Position: Data Scientist at JP Morgan Chase, Columbus, OH
• Initial Position: Associate at JP Morgan Chase, Columbus, OH

• Thesis: The Impact of Regulatory Changes and Mergers on Electricity Prices, Electricity Workers’ Wages, and Research and Development
• Committee: John Kwoka (chair), James Dana, Gustavo Vicentini
• Initial Position: Implementing electricity reform and working for the state grid in China

• Thesis: Three Essays on Airline Pricing and Entrepreneurial Ventures
• Committee: James Dana (chair), John Kwoka, Karthik Krishnan
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor of Finance at University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
• Contact: https://www.usf.edu/business/contacts/wang-pinshuo.aspx

• Thesis: Essays in Empirical Labor Economics
• Committee: Alicia Sasser Modestino, William Dickens, Mindy Marks
• Initial Position: Economist at Amazon, Seattle, WA
• Current Position: Manager, Senior Economist at Amazon, Seattle, WA

• Thesis: Three Essays in Applied Economics
• Committee: John Kwoka (chair), Kamran Dadkhah, James Dana
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor at Kazakh-British Technical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

• Thesis: Three Essays about Market Competition Effects on Firm Behavior, Performance and Risk
• Committee: James Dana (chair), John Kwoka, Gustavo Vicentini
• Initial Position: Quantitative Credit Risk Analyst at CoStar Group, Brookline, MA
• Current Position: Assistant Vice President at Frost Bank, San Antonio, TX

• Thesis: Three Essays on Health, Retirement and Social Policy
• Committee: William Dickens, Bilge Erten, Gustavo Vicentini
• Initial Position: Teaching Professor at Queens College in CUNY, Queens, NY
• Current Position: Assistant Teaching Professor in Economics at Northeastern University, Boston, MA

• Thesis: Three Empirical Essays on Turkish Health Care System
• Committee: William Dickens, Bilge Erten, Catalina Herrera Almanza
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor of Economics at Department of Public Finance in Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey
• Initial Position: Deputy Head of Economics Department at Department of Public Finance in Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey

• Thesis: Welfare Impacts of Pension para Adultos Mayores: Evidence from a Non-experimental Evaluation
• Committee: William Dickens, Catalina Herrera Almanza, Gregory Wassall

• Thesis: Human Capital Policy: Three Empirical Essays
• Committee: William Dickens, James Dana, Bilge Erten
• Current Position: Assistant Professor at Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor at Istanbul 29 Mayis University, Istanbul, Turkey
• Contact: http://econ.itu.edu.tr/en/academic_staff/faculty-member/aysun-hiziroglu

• Thesis: Three Essays on Trust, Geography and Price in Online Market
• Committee: James Dana (chair), Imke Reimers, Gustavo Vicentini, Zhongmin Wang
• Initial Position: Senior Associate, Acquisition Modelling at Discover Financial Services, Chicago, IL
• Current Position: Manager, Card Acquisition Risk Modelling at Discover Financial Services, Chicago, IL

• Thesis: Three Essays on Housing Policy and Inequality
• Committee: William Dickens, Neil Alper, James Dana
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor of Economics at Longwood University, Farmville, VA
• Contact: http://www.longwood.edu/directory/profile/plahovinsaktjlongwoodedu/

• Thesis: Three Empirical Essays in Labor Economics
• Committee: William Dickens, Neil Alper, Gregory Wassall
• Current Position: Associate Director/Senior Economist at Moody’s Analytics, West Chester, PA
• Initial Position: Economist at Moody’s Analytics, West Chester, PA

• Thesis: Three Essays in Empirical Industrial Organization and Merger Policy
• Committee: John Kwoka (chair), James Dana, Steven Morrison
• Current Position: Vice President/Quant at JP Morgan Chase, Columbus, OH
• Initial Position: Consultant at World Bank, Washington, D.C.

• Thesis: Three Essays on Labor Economics
• Committee: William Dickens, Neil Alper, Osborne Jackson
• Current Position:  lead policy analyst for the Federal Reserve Financial Services, Boston, MA
• Initial Position: Economist at San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, San Francisco, CA

• Thesis: Three Essays on Competition and Productivity in the U.S. Airline Industry
• Committee: Steven Morrison, James Dana, John Kwoka
• Initial Position: Consultant/Economist at World Bank, Washington, D.C.

• Thesis: Three Essays on the Impact of Market Structure on Network Industries
• Committee: John Kwoka, James Dana, Gustavo Vicentini
• Current Position: Associate Director at NERA Economic Consulting, Boston, MA
• Initial Position: Consultant at NERA Economic Consulting, Boston, MA
• Contact: https://www.nera.com/experts/dr–laura-t–w–olive.html

Rand Ghayad

• Thesis: Long-term Unemployment in the Great Recession
• Committee: William Dickens (chair), Hugh Courtney, Maria Luengo-Prado, Robert Triest
• Current Position: Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, Association of American Railroads
• Initial Position: Economic Expert at Brattle Group, Cambridge, MA

• Thesis: Three Empirical Essays in Industrial Organization
• Committee: James Dana (chair), John Kwoka, Zhongmin Wang
• Initial Position: Quantitative Research Analyst at State Street Global Advisors, Boston, MA
• Current Position: Senior Quantitative Analyst at Windhaven Investment Management, Boston, MA

• Thesis: Three Essays on Edgeworth Price Cycles in Western Australia
• Committee: James Dana, John Kwoka, Zhongmin Wang
• Initial Position: Associate Economist at New York State Department of Public Service, Albany, NY

• Thesis: Consequences of Biotech Innovation in Crop Seed
• Committee: James Dana (chair), John Kwoka, Kyle Stiegert, Gustavo Vicentini
• Current Position: Associate at Analysis Group, Boston, MA
• Initial Position: Senior Associate at Charles River Associates, Boston, MA

• Thesis: Three Essays on Human Capital and Labor Economics
• Committee: William Dickens, Neil Alper, Lynne Zucker
• Initial Position: Economist at Ernst & Young, Los Angeles, CA
• Current Position: Managing Director of Data Science at Econ One Research, Los Angeles, CA and Content Review Board Member at DataScienceSalon, Los Angeles, CA and Lecturer at UCLA, Los Angeles, LA
• Contact: https://www.econone.com/staff-member/amarita-natt/

• Thesis: Three Essays in Labor Economics
• Committee: William Dickens, Neil Alper, Andrew Sum
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor at Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing, China

• Thesis: Three Essays on the Impacts of Public Policies on Labor Market and Health Outcomes
• Committee: William Dickens, Osborne Jackson, Maria Luengo Prado, Andrew Sum
• Initial Position: Assistant Professor of Economics at Sage Colleges, Albany, NY
• Current Position: Associate Professor of Economics and Chair of School of Management at Sage Colleges, Albany, NY

• Thesis: Essays on Human Capital, Expectations and Behaviors
• Committee: William Dickens, Neil Alper, Andrew Sum
• Initial Position: Senior Fiscal and Policy Analysis at Iowa Department of Revenue, Des Moines, IA

• Thesis: Three Essays in Industrial Organization and Applied Econometrics
• Committee: John Kwoka, Kamran Dadkhah, Zhongmin Wang
• Initial Position: Senior Predictive Analytics Engineer at Liberty Mutual, Boston, MA
• Current Position: Vice President of Data Science at Stride Funding, Boston, MA

• Thesis: Three Essays on Consumer Credit History and the Labor Market
• Committee: William Dickens, Neil Alper, Osborne Jackson
• Initial Position: Economist at Eastern Research Group, Charlottesville, VA

• Thesis: Three Essays on Strategic Behavior, Information Revelation and Restructuring in the U.S. Electricity Markets
• Committee: John Kwoka, Kamran Dadkhah, James Dana
• Initial Position: Associate at Synapse Energy Economics, Cambridge, MA
• Current Position: Senior Director of Data Science, Strategic Insights and Analytics, Coursera

• Thesis: Three Essays on Merger Policy and Regulatory Policy
• Committee: John Kwoka, Kamran Dadkhah, James Dana
• Initial Position: Consultant/Economist at World Bank, Washington, D.C.

• Thesis: Three Essays on Buyer Power Theory, Dominant HMOs and Technology Transfer
• Committee: James Dana, Kamran Dadkhah, John Kwoka
• Initial Position: Assistant Director of Product Research at Liberty Mutual, Boston, MA
• Current Position: Senior Director II of Data Science at Liberty Mutual, Boston, MA

• Thesis: Three Essays on U.S. Electricity Restructuring
• Committee: John Kwoka, James Dana, Michael Politt
• Initial Position: Associate at Brattle Group, Cambridge, MA
• Current Position: Principal at Brattle Group, Cambridge, MA
• Contact: https://www.brattle.com/experts/sanem-sergici